Heading West along the Colorado River from Frisco, Colorado

Frisco, Colorado through Glenwood Canyon to Glenwood Springs, Colorado and Grand Junction, Colorado
Colorado National Monument

I left Frisco, CO about 2:00pm on Friday October 15, 2010 for a short trip to western Colorado and over the border to Utah. I immediately hit a traffic jam at Copper Mountain but was rewarded with an awesome view of the back of the snowcapped Ten Mile Range.

Then it was up and over Vail Pass and on Interstate 70 past Vail, Colorado. There were only a few Aspen trees still with their leaves - the silver trunks always look so bare when the leaves have all been dropped. The turn after West Vail at exit 171 towards Minturn is the Top of the Rockies Scenic Byway http://bit.ly/cnnD4l that runs through Leadville, Twin Lakes and on to Aspen. 

I70 then runs past Avon with the ski are of Beaver Creek and then comes out of the high central Rockies into the Colorado River Valley. The Eagle River joins the Colorado River in Wolcott, Colorado, and the interstate, and the river are also joined by the train tracks of Amtrak's California Zephyr that runs all the way from Chicago to San Francisco. In one valley you have road, rail and river all going in the same direction. The railroad was part of the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad built in the early 1900s that is now the Union Pacific Railroad. This area of the Colorado River Valley is filled with some beautiful ranches along the winding river. Rather than Aspen trees, the large Cottonwoods have groves next to the river, and the altitude is now so much lower the trees are in their full fall foliage.

Just after Dotsero, Colorado the road enters Glenwood Canyon   http://bit.ly/1heH66 , where road, rail, and river are joined by a bike path. There are exits to scenic areas like the Bair Ranch and the Shoshone rapids and another to the hiking trail that leads to Hanging Lake http://bit.ly/dgiqiX. I never cease to marvel at the geology of the canyon and the way the river has cut through the various layers of rock. The water is a beautiful deep green - there has not been much precipitation lately so there is very little sediment flowing in the current. There is still a pretty good flow to the river as water has to be let out of Colorado reservoirs to meet downstream obligations - those golf courses in Nevada and California do have  to be watered, Lake Powell needs to be filled and the Glen Canyon Dam needs a certain amount of water to create power for Arizona.

The canyon finishes at Glenwood Springs where you will find the Glenwood Hot Springs Pool http://bit.ly/kJIXG and the Yampah Spa & Vapor Caves http://bit.ly/Zyl9m as well as the historic Hotel Denver http://bit.ly/aZSpg4 and Hotel Colorado on either side of the river.

My trip then follows the river with the Roan Plateau to the north and Battlement Mesa to the south until reaching Debeque Canyon http://bit.ly/dz7gjb where the James M. Robb Colorado State Park http://bit.ly/cXEHVZ  has five different sections. The canyon is really beautiful and the freeway is right next to the river, with many willows and grasses on the riverbank that have turned to numerous colors from golden brown, to bright yellow to deep red.

The canyon emerges after entering a tunnel with the town of Palisades on the left, the "Heart of Colorado's Fruit and Wine Country" http://bit.ly/9d7pMt. After traveling through the center of Grand Junction, Colorado and crossing the Colorado River numerous times, I finally reach my destination for the night at the Colorado National Monument http://bit.ly/caLrKz. I pay the park fee and ask about the camp site, that I had thought was close to the east entrance to the park, but that it the day use Devil's Kitchen picnic area and the Saddlehorn camp site is 19 miles on the other side of the park. The road is winding with tons of switch backs as it ascends to the top of the monument and the sun is sinking and directly into my face when it is not hidden behind rock faces. There are bends that I come around where the sun goes into shadow and the ground drops off the side of the road sometimes with no barriers and I cannot even see the road until the light adjusts.

Luckily there are markers on the side of the road and I am able to follow the white tips on those and not plunge down to the bottom of a canyon. It is needless to say very nerve wracking but the scenery is dramatic. Ute Canyon with its overlooks is particularly breathtaking from both sides as is Monument Canyon. The camp site is really good with great bathrooms, a picnic table and a charcoal grill at every site. It is pretty full. mostly with campers with California plates. The stars are really bright as we are up on top of the Uncompaghre Plateau and the night time temperatures are relatively warm.